Trade Tales

"How a Savvy Plumber Saved A Marriage."

He has a 5,000 square foot building, huge refrigerators and display bins, 6 employees, an overhead door and a cool blinking neon “Open” sign. Gary loves his business and his life.

The problem?

Gary has a major plumbing problem- the sewer line beneath his concrete floor has collapsed leading to a catastrophe- a smelly, disgusting and dangerous sewer back up!

Gary calls “Paul The Plumber”

The repair cost? $10,000.

The floor must be sawed up and underground pipes replaced. It is a huge emergency plumbing job. Business is good but not that good. Short of going "hat in hand" to his annoying “In laws” or to small-minded banker for a loan- what can Gary do?

Gary has a brainstorm.

What if he TRADES with the Paul the Plumber?

Gary considers the possibility.

Gary has excess capacity- after all he is not 100% busy all the time, few businesses are. He marks up his produce by 100%- meaning that when he sells something for a dollar- it costs him 50¢. All of his other costs are fixed, bank payment, labor, his snazzy website built in WordPress that some bearded hipster made for him, property tax and utilities, etc.- He is paying these costs anyway.

If Gary can persuade Paul the Plumber to take $10,000 in produce in trade for the plumbing repair, then Gary will only be out $5,000- Gary can handle that!

Gary asks Paul- but Paul does not need $10,000 in produce- he likes to eat- but that is a lot bananas, kiwifruit, cabbage, new potatoes, tomatoes and spaghetti squash!

Paul says that if he were to do a trade it would be with an Orthodontist since Paul has 3 sweet kids with crooked teeth.

Gary has a Major Problem!

The sewer back up is horrible. The local health department finds out and shuts him down, the local TV station shows up and does a hit piece for the 6 o’clock news during sweeps week: “Stinky Sewage in Aisle 3”.

Gary’s business is ruined.

His wife divorces him and she moves in with Gary’s best friend from High School, Barry the Butcher.

Gary declares bankruptcy and is last seen selling wilted cucumbers on a lonely street corner.

BUT WAIT!!! Enter Local Trade Partners!

But suppose Gary is a member of Local Trade Partners.

Local Trade Partners facilitates Gary the Grocer trading with Paul the Plumber. Gary is not going to do a direct trade with Paul.

Instead he is going to pay Paul with Local Trade Partners trade dollars and...

(You guessed it...)

Paul will spend the trade dollars with “Oscar the Orthodontist”!

Gary has been selling to other members of the trade exchange, enjoying additional sales, sales that could have been lost to the chain supermarket in town. All of these customers have been “found business”.

Gary remembers a customer that drove from an hour away to buy produce. That customer explained that he owned a computer repair business and that he filled his idle time with new customers from the Trade Exchange, earning trade dollars.

Everyone was motivated to spend their trade dollars with fellow members and conserve their cash.

Gary continues to make sales through Local Trade Partners. He works closely with his Trade Broker who keeps Gary informed about new members and new trade opportunities.

Gary spends his trade dollars on dining out, auto repairs, massages, golf, his dentist, his CPA, attorney, flowers and jewelry for his smart, faithful, beautiful and adoring wife who just got Botox through Local Trade Partners.